Juice Mailbag: Murphy leaving, Waiters to follow?

Wesley Cheng: Would it surprise anyone if he did? Dion and Boeheim have already had a history of not getting along with each other. But it may be more than just that. There is a glut at the guard position next year. With Michael Carter-Williams and Trevor Cooney coming in, plus Scoop and Brandon Triche returning, there is going to be a limited amount of minutes for five guys (six if you throw in Mookie). If the rift between coach and player doesn’t get in the way, the playing time might. I personally hope he stays. He played a lot better down the stretch and was Syracuse’s best player in its final loss to Marquette.

Mark Porter: Yeah, he’s gone. I just don’t think he’s gotten the hint yet. This whole thing screams Paul Harris to me. While a lot could be made of the incident from earlier in the season, the real reason he’ll be out is the numbers game. Scoop and Trish are coming back. The entrance of star recruit Michael Carter-Williams pretty much kills any chance at PT. For Syracuse, when it comes to guards with attitudes sitting on the bench, we already have one Mookie Jones. Do we really need another one? Waiters will finally come to that conclusion and take off for greener pastures. The most disturbing thing about this is it shows Boeheim’s new affinity for recruiting over players. Players normally don’t like it when you bring them in, then bring in a new player to take their job a year later. The lack of loyalty by the coaching staff could really bite the Orange on the recruiting front in the future.

Update: Dion tweeted early this morning that he’s returning to Syracuse for his sophomore season.

WC: That’s a nice sentiment, but it’s not entirely his call to make. This is Boeheim’s team, and what he say goes. So unless Boeheim affirmatively and unequivocally says that Waiters is coming back, the jury is still out.

MP: If you’re gonna be wrong, be loud wrong. He can stay if he wants, it is his call. They aren’t going to pull his scholarship. Unless it was some Boeheim mental jujitsu, it really seemed like Boeheim is making it known that he’s not getting minutes next year and should look to move on. I’m still not completely sold he’s here for good.

WC: Well, my initial thought was, there isn’t going to be a sequel to Unfinished Business. How can Rob leave on such a poor note? Seriously, though, I wish him and Eastern Michigan nothing but the best (that is, unless the Orange face them down the road). That being said, it leaves Syracuse in a pinch in terms of recruiting. Murphy was the guy that went out and got Wes Johnson and Kris Joseph, among others. I tweeted the other night that Syracuse should look at Gerry McNamara as a possible replacement, but he’s an unproven commodity when it comes to recruiting. Perhaps former SU star Allen Griffin, who previously worked as an administrative assistant to Boeheim, and now is an assistant coach at Hofstra, could fill the role?

MP: It’s gonna hurt. Over the past few seasons, the overall quality and depth of recruiting classes that Syracuse has brought in have been relatively unprecedented for this program. A lot of that has to do with the talents of Rob Murphy. His departure leaves a huge hole on that front. There’s been talk of G-Mac taking over the spot, but I just don’t think he’s ready for that type of role yet. Adrian Autry and Allen Griffin have both been mentioned and would both be solid fits for this position. Word on the street is that Boeheim will round up all the SU guards from the past 20 years and award the position via an “8 Mile” style rap off. To fill Rob Murphy’s position, it’s really the only fitting way to do it. My money is on Scott McCorkle.